1939 1H series D8 snow plow.

[old-iron-habit]

I was contacted by a nearby small town museum last week and was asked if I would be interested in helping them try to start the museums 1H series D8 snowplow. It is an original double wing model that was purchased new by the township in 1939. It was drove into a viewing shelter in 2001 and has sat there since. Last Saturday we checked things over, found a broken rotor in the pony mag along with a shorted coil. As starting was out of the question we and made a list of things to do before the next attempt. The mag is out for a rebuild. The museum has graciously offered to host the fall meeting of ACMOC's Minnesota Chapter 3. We expect to have the mag back, the misc work done and going to try to start it then. Stay tuned. Pictures are a little cramps. Not very good photo opps in the small viewing shed.

​

 

[old-iron-habit]

D8 size ice cleats. Called calks in this part of the world. The building it is in now, and the problematic magneto.

 

[Ronsii]

Cool!!!! Wish I was closer to you.

 

[kshansen]

Would love to see a video of it when you fire it up and drive it out of the shed!

 

[old-iron-habit]

Would love to see a video of it when you fire it up and drive it out of the shed!

Unless he gets stuck working that Saturday, Sasquatch253 whom posts the excellent restoration videos on YouTube will most likely be there filming. He is a MN Chapter 3 Club member and lives within 40 miles of the snowplow.

 

[old-iron-habit]

A update on the 1939 1H D8. Last Friday we got the repaired mag back. The pushings were worn enough that they were binding and holding the impulse from snapping. It was machined out and new oversized bushings installed. Yesterday a fellow ACMOC member and I put the repaired mag back on the old girl. Since our last visit the museum folks have checked for condensation in all the compartments, filled the radiator, and cleaned things in general. Using a thumb on #1 pony cylinder spark plug hole, and using a timing light we quickly learned we had the mag in correctly. It can only be correct or 180 degrees off. With the flushed out pony tank filled with fresh gas I gave the pony a crank. Imagine our surprise when it fired and ran for about 10 seconds on the first crank. Lucky on the timing guess from where it had sat before. Gave it another crank and it started again and kept running. Put the pony transmission in low and with the compression on full release I turned the main over for the first time since 2001. A minute later I put the transmission in high. The pony pulled it easily. I moved the compression release to the middle position and the pony died. A quick check revealed we had no gas coming thru the line. Not unusual when setting for a long time, the vibration loosens the crap up. A cleaning of the sediment bowl and a shot of air in the line got us back to full gas flow. Again a first crank start for the pony. After turning the main engine on compression for about 5 minutes we jerked the throttle back and it fired right off. Ya hoo. Not bad for setting for 18 years. It purred. We still have a issue with the Laplant Choate blade. The control is a 3 lever control. The levers move sideways to operate. The two outside wing controls work. When I pulled the center V-plow lever towards me the blade powered down and lifted the front of the D8. Center position is float and is marked as such. When I pushed the lever away from me the blade lifted but went back down upon release of the lever. Finally I pushed the lever, raised the blade, and quickly pulled the lever all the way toward me past the down position from earlier. The blade stayed up. Had me confused for awhile but I think the hoses to the V-plow are reversed. I would think the lever should pull to raise. I since learned that they installed the plow just before walking it into the shed in 2001. No one remembers the particulars. I need to look and see if there is a easy way to reverse the hoses and try that. There was video taken of the old girl starting but the fellow that filmed the whole start was asked to hold on it until after the official starting. It has got to be a big deal for these parts. The TV news and 2 newspapers are going to be there for the "official" attempt to start. It is set for 10/19/19. I will post a link to the real start up video after that. Next we really need to convince the museum to let us haul it out to some field and move some snow the old fashioned way this winter. Many of them want to, we just need to convince a couple of the elders whom are concerned about wrecking the "good" neighbors lawn which is the only way out. I think he will be OK. As soon as the pony started he was there watching and grinning. The ground will have a good snow base anyway.

 

[Ronsii]

Looking great!!!! Always good to see old iron come to life when they been sleeping a while


But I didn't see a "I waited for the oil pressure to come up and then I moved the compression release to half' comment

 

[old-iron-habit]

Looking great!!!! Always good to see old iron come to life when they been sleeping a while


But I didn't see a "I waited for the oil pressure to come up and then I moved the compression release to half' comment

Actually we had a guy sitting in the cab looking at the gauges and also to pull the throttle when the time came. It's a bit of a job just crawling into the cab in order to see anything. It had only spun a few turns when he told me we had oil pressure. We never did get super good fuel pressure but it is on the lower edge of the green. I thought about changing the filters but I was a little concerned that they may have come out in pieces and we would have to find new rods for them. I did not want to get into that.

 

[crane operator]

It's a bit of a job just crawling into the cab in order to see anything.

With the size of those little front windows, I'm not sure you could see much, especially not with the wind howling pushing around 6-8" of blowing snow.

I bet its a look out the side window for the ditch kind of machine?

 

[kshansen]

With the size of those little front windows, I'm not sure you could see much, especially not with the wind howling pushing around 6-8" of blowing snow.

I bet its a look out the side window for the ditch kind of machine?

There are time I think the county plow operators on our road work, or just listen for the plow hitting my mailbox to know they are getting too far to the right!

 

[old-iron-habit]

With the size of those little front windows, I'm not sure you could see much, especially not with the wind howling pushing around 6-8" of blowing snow.

I bet its a look out the side window for the ditch kind of machine?

Back in them days they did not plow until the storm was over. Even as a kid it was not real unusual to be snowed in for a day or two. Longest I can ever remember was being snowed in was for 4 days when I was in my later teens. I went storm crazy about the third day and snowshoed cross country to town. When I got there every business was closed so I went to a friends for coffee and snowshoed home again.

 

[kshansen]

Back in them days they did not plow until the storm was over. Even as a kid it was not real unusual to be snowed in for a day or two. Longest I can ever remember was being snowed in was for 4 days when I was in my later teens. I went storm crazy about the third day and snowshoed cross country to town. When I got there every business was closed so I went to a friends for coffee and snowshoed home again.

Recall my dad telling about when he was a kid up in central Minn., they plowed roads with horses. Something about using horses from different farms. Said when they were done with the plowing who ever was the guy doing the plowing just let the horses go free and they would go back to their own barns.

We might get back to that way of plowing once they get the autonomous driving trucks sorted out!

 

[DB2]

The future is closer than you think

 

[old-iron-habit]

Recall my dad telling about when he was a kid up in central Minn., they plowed roads with horses. Something about using horses from different farms. Said when they were done with the plowing who ever was the guy doing the plowing just let the horses go free and they would go back to their own barns.

We might get back to that way of plowing once they get the autonomous driving trucks sorted out!

I have never seen one in plowing condition but I have seen the remains of a 6 or 8 horse hitch V-plow for horses. It was built a lot like an old grain headers in which the horses walked behind the plow to pull it. It would be cool to see one restored and working.

 

[petepilot]

I have never seen one in plowing condition but I have seen the remains of a 6 or 8 horse hitch V-plow for horses. It was built a lot like an old grain headers in which the horses walked behind the plow to pull it. It would be cool to see one restored and working.

i`d like to see that setup. have seen a four horse team running a threshing machine via what was called a tumbling shaft

 

[kshansen]

I have never seen one in plowing condition but I have seen the remains of a 6 or 8 horse hitch V-plow for horses. It was built a lot like an old grain headers in which the horses walked behind the plow to pull it. It would be cool to see one restored and working.

That is one of many things I wish I had better memories of things dad saw growing up. Way too many times when growing up we hear parents and family members talking about things from their childhood and it just goes over our heads as kids. All I can say is if anyone still has older relatives around, talk to them and write down what they say or better yet record the stories in their own voices.

I do recall dad mentioning spending Halloween nights tipping over outhouses! So I'm sure there were many stories we never had a chance to hear.

And there were some stories from mom. One about knowing the best place in her town for ice cream, seems she figured out latter in life that that place was a front for an illegal gambling joint in the back room! She would sneak out of the house and get a ride on the back of her older brother's Harley when he went bar hopping. She did say in her latter years that that was probably not the smartest thing to do!

Sorry about getting so OT from the D8 snow plow! funny how mention of one thing will spark this old mind to long forgotten memories!

 

[old-iron-habit]

i`d like to see that setup. have seen a four horse team running a threshing machine via what was called a tumbling shaft

The plow itself was built of wood and mostly gone, the metal that still remained was of riveted construction. It was long before we all carried a camera in our phones. I was unsure what it was at first. I'm racking my brain trying to remember what tractor show it was laying in the weeds at. Hopefully it will get restored some day.

 

[Welder Dave]

That is one of many things I wish I had better memories of things dad saw growing up. Way too many times when growing up we hear parents and family members talking about things from their childhood and it just goes over our heads as kids. All I can say is if anyone still has older relatives around, talk to them and write down what they say or better yet record the stories in their own voices.

I do recall dad mentioning spending Halloween nights tipping over outhouses! So I'm sure there were many stories we never had a chance to hear.

And there were some stories from mom. One about knowing the best place in her town for ice cream, seems she figured out latter in life that that place was a front for an illegal gambling joint in the back room! She would sneak out of the house and get a ride on the back of her older brother's Harley when he went bar hopping. She did say in her latter years that that was probably not the smartest thing to do!

Sorry about getting so OT from the D8 snow plow! funny how mention of one thing will spark this old mind to long forgotten memories!

My dad told me a Halloween story about my Grandpa. My Grandpa was the branch manager of the largest hardware store chain in Western Canada and pretty well known in the city. He wasn't rich by any means but fairly well to do. He got a new company car every year during the depression because he did a lot of sales calls. The day after Halloween he gets a call from the school first thing in the morning. "Your outhouse is on the front steps of the school"... Grandpa's reply, "Well what the hell do you want me to do about it?" Another interesting fact is he was scheduled to come over on the Titanic but couldn't make it and came on the next ship. He wanted to fight for Canada in WW II. Got a meritorious service medal (fairly rare), not sure for what but he had a German model 1914 Mauser pistol and holster. I have still have that hidden away. He lived to 95 years old and was still sharp as a tack until he got pneumonia.

 

[kshansen]

Another interesting fact is he was scheduled to come over on the Titanic but couldn't make it and came on the next ship. He wanted to fight for Canada in WW II.

Interesting about the Titanic, guess missing the boat can be a good thing. A somewhat related story my mom's dad immigrated to the US before his wife and two kids came over and he made the trip on the Lusitania, would have to do some research for the date but not too long after that Germany sank that one!

Might be one of the reasons when England got involved in WWI he left his new home in the USA and went to Toronto Canada and on April 8th 1918 joined the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force. I happen to have a copy of the papers he signed that day!

We better watch it or Old-Iron-Habit is going to chase us out of this thread with that old D8 for goin' too far OT!

 

[Welder Dave]

That is a very interesting original D8. I should have wrote WW I not WW II.